Skip to main content

tv   Closing Bell  CNBC  November 2, 2012 3:00pm-4:00pm EDT

3:00 pm
we ha -- wow. we have to leave it there. >> sheep never use their turn signal. that's their problem. otherwise i have no problem. thanks for watching, everybody. >> have a great weekend. a safe weekend. keep warm. "closing bell" is next. hi, everybody. happy friday to you. welcome to the "closing bell." i'm maria bartiromo at new york stock exchange. job creation up, but so is the unemployment rate. stocks are down. we're seeing losses mount today as we approach the final stretch. >> i'm bill griffeth. investors not exactly taking comfort from the october jobs report. wall street remaining cautious, apparently, ahead of tuesday's presidential election. here's where we stand in the final hour with the dollar moving higher today. that's pushing a lot of asset classes lower. the dow now down 102 points just off the lows of the session at 13,130. the nasdaq down 24 points, almost a full percent there at 2995.
3:01 pm
the s&p 500 index is also lower, down 8-plus points at 1418. >> i guess i would have expected a different reaction to these numbers today. so what is behind this slide in stocks? >> in today's "closing bell exchange," we have ed batowski along with ron ensana and rick santelli. rick, what's your take on the action here? as i said, you've had a strong dollar. that's pushing oil and gold and the stock market lower today. >> it is. it is pretty surprising to see the knee-jerk reaction at 8:30 to about 8:45 eastern where interest rates moved higher. treasuries sold off. dollar index jumped. the equity futures jumped. it didn't last long, as you pointed out. the only market that really remains solid with this first knee-jerk move is the dollar. i think that points to a lot of questions regarding what comes down the pipe after tuesday, what happens with regard to
3:02 pm
longevity of fed programs. we had jim on today. he said we're handicapping two issues. monetary policy and the next president. i think those issues definitely impact subsequent equity and fixed income trading. >> so that's what's behind this negative performance. ed, what do you think it is? i didn't see a lot of expectations of 170,000 new jobs created. >> yeah, but there's a lot of jobs that were created. at the same time, there were a lot of jobs that were lost. everyone is just frozen, waiting to see. never before if our lifetime has a presidential election meant so much. people are just taking pause and waiting. these numbers are really an insignificant event. quite frankly, i was hoping they were going to be a little lower. we saw a tick up. not surprising we're seeing very little action in the markets. >> the reasoning right now, steve liesman s if you're going to get a jobs number and want revisions behind it for the previous month, maybe there's less of a need for quantitative easing on the margins down the road. you get a stronger dollar. that seems to be the reasreason.
3:03 pm
>> maybe, but i'm more struck by how the video has turned from sandy, bill. i think today's numbers along with a bunch of other data we've had the last couple days has suggested the economy has more momentum going into november than we thought before. however, when we see the pictures of sandy go from essentially heartbreaking disaster to now sort of more nerve-racking social unrest, when we hear some of the stories out there, i don't think those are the kind of pictures that cause people to take long positions in stocks. i think it's a wait-and-see position. wait and see how much sandy has an effect on the economy before you can take a positive position represented by the numbers here. >> all right. so there's a lot of noise in all of this. you've got sandy. you've got the election uncertainty. you've got uncertainty about the broad economy. i can't imagine, ron that, this 100-point selloff in the dow industrials is because people want more economic stimulus and more qe. disappointment over maybe the jobs numbers show the economy is
3:04 pm
not in need enough of more qe. we've had so much stimulus out there. >> yeah, i think anybody who's been trained on what the fed has to say knows that one month, particularly 170,000 jobs, is not going to change fed policy. stan jonas, a friend of mine who's an independent trader, did some back of the napkin math. at 170 jobs per month t will take like the end of 2014 to get the unemployment rate down to 7%. then the fed starts to unwind, rather than middle 2015. that's some of the chatter going on. i don't think it's that meaningful. i don't think a 100-point drop in the dow is all that meaningful given we're approaching the election and have a nor'easter coming to new york. >> i just want to add to what ron said. the fed has spoken. it's been clear about what it's going to do and how long it's going to do it for. i think the market's pretty well attuned to how any changes in jobs will change the fed outlook. these numbers do not change the fed outlook.
3:05 pm
>> ed, you have to make money in this environment. what do you do? is this a buying opportunity? >> not particularly. you have to look at the technical indicators and see where we're going see a breakdown. i would be putting no money to work right new. because of this election, if we see romney elected, we'll see oil prices drop. you'll see energy prices drop. that might be a buying opportunity at that point. other than that, i really believe we have to just take a look and see attitude right now. >> well, one of our guests, a regular on this program, had a great idea. he said to me, maybe for one month the fed instead of putting that $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities buying, put that on hold and send it to some of the ravaged areas like staten island, like new jersey. >> i love it. i absolutely love that idea. >> i do too. >> then the fed's crossing the line into fiscal policy and out of the realm of monetary policy. >> where are we going to get it? >> fema responds rather adroitly
3:06 pm
to -- katrina notwithstanding, to these disasters. i suspect they're going to be quite responsive right now for those who have been displaced, who have lost family members, who don't have homes. i think there will be a rapid response from the federal government. >> i'm just saying, we could use that money in other areas right now. not necessarily the bond buying program. just an observation. >> maria, i got say, i don't know if the bond buying is actually helping. we're seeing a lot of bond buying. i don't know where that money is going to. we see unemployment raising. >> is survey showed pick ups in demand for most classes in lending right now. so it has had a positive effect in a place where it could matter. we have seen in general some of the interest rates that matter go down in the economy, including mortgages. >> and a big uptick in housing. >> maybe not perfect, but it seems to have had an effect. >> do we anticipate the typical
3:07 pm
pickup in economic activity following a natural disaster of this magnitude here, ron? >> bill, listen, it's going to take a little while, just as it has during other periods of natural disasters. steve and i were talking before we came up. i think what we need to see is opposed to some sort of peace meal fixing of the infrastructure that's been taken out, somebody announces a systematic plan to rebuild this infrastructure for real so that it's more capable of handling these types of problems, which are becoming increasingly frequent. it's not just that they're fixing third-rail switches and signals. they're doing something that makes this area of the country far more productive when it comes to infrastructure rebuild. >> at least we have all those generators in central park this weekend. that's helpful. >> bernanke said he wanted to print all of that money specifically to help job creation. i agree that some things are
3:08 pm
picking up, but job creation and the employment picture is not picking up. that's the number one reason he said we're going to continue to print money and basically add to qe-3 for job creation. we're just not seeing it. that's the problem i see. all right, gentlemen. we have to go. you know how it works. got to go. you used to do it, ron. >> it was my show. i did it all the time. >> he never took a rest. he remembers. thank you all for joining us. we're heading toward the close. before the closing bell, we'll see what happens with the dow down 103 points. >> yeah, don't go anywhere. we have a lot more ahead on this busy friday edition of the "closing bell." back in a moment. jobs jolt. adding more jobs than expected last month, but the unemployment rate is higher. will the results have a big impact on tuesday's presidential election? plus, gasmageddon day three. is there any end in sight to the new york area's gas prices? legendary energy expert boone
3:09 pm
pickens tells us what to expect next and how long the gas lines could go. speaking of long lines, isn't this a gas? look at lines today for apple's new mini ipad. we get a line on all this and more coming up on the "closing bell."
3:10 pm
3:11 pm
3:12 pm
welcome back. take a look at this market here. down nearly 1% on the dow jones industrial average. quite a reversal today. when the jobs numbers first came out and the market opened up, it was up about 57 points. that was the high of the day. quickly reversing course and now down and then some. double what we were up. >> dollar is at a one-month high against the euro. that seemed to push all asset classes down. stocks are not the only thing that are seeing a big selloff today. >> all right. we're going to talk election. my next guest heads one of the biggest unions in the country, the service employees international union, and of course supports the president. >> we welcome the president, mary kay henry. yesterday's endorsement of the president by mayor bloomberg was
3:13 pm
a lukewarm reaction. how energized are your union members this time around? >> working people all across this country support this president because he's put america back on track. he has a track record of creating jobs. he helped save the american auto industry. our members all across this country are fired up and ready to go and turning out a vote. not just of themselves but their families, friends, communities, neighborhoods. >> so have you got whan you wte wanted in the last four years? there were some things that i think some of the unions were saying the president could have doubled down on. what would you like to see different or better if, in fact, we do see the president get re-elected? >> what we want is working people to be able to get this country back to working good jobs, making sure that everybody pays their fair share, as the president has been talking to the nation about. making sure we protect vital services like education and health care so that we can
3:14 pm
become globally competitive again. and we want to make sure that every immigrant has a pathway to citizenship. that's the vision that our members are spoupporting this president on for re-election. >> how do you do all that? i think it's become clear that it's fiscal policy that's creating a bottleneck to keep companies from hiring right now because the uncertainty about tax treatment of assets, of investments and so forth. don't you along to congress more than you do the executive branch to try and get something done as far as job growth goes? >> well, that's what the president tried to do last fall by introducing the american jobs act. you're right. i think extremists in congress blocked the ability to get the economy going again through investment in infrastructure, roads, bridges, and schools. everybody knows that needs to be built. we just witnessed it in the northeast. so we think there needs to be a major investment in infrastructure so that we can compete globally.
3:15 pm
i think it's really important for corporations that it are sitting on $5 trillion of profits to get their investment bank into securing the middle class in this country. i trust that this president is going to make it happen. >> they're not going to do that, though, if they feel that, you know, their taxes are going to go higher, their health care expenses are going to go higher. the president has not been able to get the two sides to come together and make a compromise. we know that. that has been a failure in the last four years. what is it going to take to get leadership to actually get these two sides together to come up with a compromise to actually attack the issues that are important to your workers, unions across the country, and everybody else? >> maria, the president did get two sides to come together and pass the most profound legislation on health care in our generation. >> actually, i don't think the republicans wanted that. >> i know, and i think mitt
3:16 pm
romney -- >> he didn't actually get them together. >> romney repealing obamacare his first day in office is going to hurt us. i don't think it's true the president hasn't been able to bring both sides together. we just witnessed how he stood with governor christie in new jersey. we had a response to a nation in a crisis. >> you think there's class warfare in this country? >> no, i think the best of our country wants to come together to get this economy going again. and that president obama has shown a path that we can trust and that mitt romney is not offering anything but the failed economic policies of the past, which say that the top 1% in this country should not pay their fair share. we reject that vision for america. >> let's not forget the 47% that don't pay any tax, right? >> that's also an inaccurate statement. >> 47% of this country does not
3:17 pm
pay income tax. that's not an inaccurate statement. at all. that's a fact. >> but they pay sales tax. there's lots of taxes that people pay. >> i'm talking about the federal income tax. >> right. that's right. but how is it that you think we can get this country going again if we don't have more investment like we did in the boom economy after world war ii where the wealthy and corporations were paying a lot more in order to make our country great. i think this nation is ready to return to the kind of greatness that we've seen before. >> we will see on tuesday. thank you so much. >> mary kay, thank you for joining us. >> of course, the big election tuesday. the results could hinge on what side is better able to turn out the vote. chief washington correspondent john harwood is at a phone bank where union members supporting the president are working hard to increase that turnout. this is critical, john. >> reporter: maria, this is the
3:18 pm
critical effort of this last four days of the election. the candidates are flying around. they're delivering their messages. tv ads are on the air. most aftof that messaging has already had its impact. now it's about both sides trying to mobilize the vote, especially in the eight or nine key states. here in this call center, they're working from 10:00 in the morning into the evening every day. they're phoning into the state of virginia right now with 13 electoral votes. that's a swing state barack obama carried four years ago that mitt romney wants to take away from him. business and other groups allied with the republican campaign are doing the same thing. the u.s. chamber of commerce, though they didn't want us to have a camera in their phone banks, say they're also making millions of calls this weekend. everyone is trying to goose the turnout. the turnout by the two sides is what's going to tell us which of these poll models is correct. the likely voters are something that pollsters can only guess at. they're trying to turn likely
3:19 pm
voters into actual voters. >> all right, john. thanks so much. we'll keep watching that. very, very important component to this story. 40 minutes before the closing bell sounds on wall street for friday. the market is under pressure today after being up 57 points on the better than expected jobs numbers. a complete reversal. we're looking at a triple-digit decline to end the week. meantime, verizon is warning that now that superstorm sandy could significant hit its bottom line. what about at&t? has it been hit as well? comparing those two coming up next. and how will sandy impact clorox? the ceo will join us exclusively later on the "closing bell." stay with ugh. ♪
3:20 pm
♪ mom? dad? guys? [ engine turns over ] [ engine revs ] ♪ he'll be fine. [ male announcer ] more people are leaving bmw, mercedes and lexus for audi
3:21 pm
than ever before. take advantage of exceptional values during the season of audi event. at legalzoom, we've created a better place to turn for your legal matters. maybe you want to incorporate a business you'd like to start. or protect your family with a will or living trust. legalzoom makes it easy with step-by-step help when completing your personalized document -- or you can even access an attorney to guide you along. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized and affordable legal protection. in most states, a legal plan attorney is available with every personalized document to answer any questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected.
3:22 pm
shares of verizon lower today after being one of the first big companies to flat out warn superstorm sandy could have a material and significant impact on its profitability. brian sullivan is following that story for us. >> yeah, bill. kiep kind of an interesting story. you think the stock would be selling off dramatically, but it's not. here's the news. we know cell service has been spotty for everybody, not just verizon. they said, listen, this is going to be a significant impact on the fourth quarter, both from the landline business and the cell phone business as well. we don't know how big. they didn't quantify significant. you look at the stock, it's only down a percent. in the same regulatory filing, they said they're going to save $500 million from new union deals they just made.
3:23 pm
so maybe the market balancing those two things out. >> all right. thank you so much. so should you buy verizon on this weakness or look at at&t? maybe both are bad bets right now. on the heels of that, we do "talking numbers." looking at the technicals with ennis tanner with riskreversal.com. on the fundamental side, david burkes. he joins us from louisville, kentucky. good to have you on the program. david, let me kick this off with you. who -- to what extent will this impact verizon? >> good afternoon, maria. we like them both. while i think both companies will be impacted in their fourth quarter results, we think both companies look attractive for three reasons. they both offer attractive dividend yields. they're both experiencing strong demand in wireless data growth. both are generating extraordinarily strong cash flows. >> okay. ennis, let's look at the charts.
3:24 pm
what do these stocks look like? >> i think at&t is in a bit more of a dangerous spot. let's start with verizon. i'll show you it's actually been in a steady up trends for the last six months. the stock has made higher highs and higher lows. $44 is the important level. the stock is down 1% today. it hasn't breached 44. i would still hold it here. if you look at at&t, a similar up trend existed in the last six months. in october, on the most recent selloff, you can see it broke that up trend decisively. it actually hasn't bounced that much on the recent market rally. the sellers are heavy. >> that's a negative. you want to sell at&t here? >> i would be a seller. >> because it kept going down. you think it will continue? >> yeah, that weakness is a sign of pure buyers, more sellers. >> that's something you look at all the time. final comment here. you saw what the charts say david. any reason to believe the fundamental story wins out? >> like the dividend yields on both, maria. remember, these are two the highest yielding stocks on the dow jones industrial average.
3:25 pm
it's a slow growth economic environment, a low interest rate environment. >> all right. we'll keep watching. thank you very much. good to talk with you. appreciate it. bill, over to you. >> about 35 minutes left in the trading session. slowly heading lower here. down 110 points on the dow jones industrial average. see how we do as we head toward the close. it's gasmageddon day three in new york and new jersey. could this be worse than the gas crisis of the 1970s? legendary energy investor boone pickens will join us next on that. and there were also big lines in manhattan, but it's not for gasoline. it's for apple's new mini ipad. were they as big as the apple product launches of the past? we'll have that coming up later on the "closing bell." stay tuned. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 when i'm trading, i'm totally focused. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and the streetsmart edge trading platform from charles schwab... tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 gives me tools that help me find opportunities more easily. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i can even access it from the cloud and trade on any computer.
3:26 pm
tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and with schwab mobile, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i can focus on trading anyplace, anytime... tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 until i choose to focus on something else. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 trade at charles schwab for $8.95 a trade. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 open an account and trade up to tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 6 months commission-free online equity trading tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 with a $50,000 deposit. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 call 1-866-294-5412.
3:27 pm
3:28 pm
welcome back. oil and gasoline prices today have plunged in the markets.
3:29 pm
if only drivers in new york and new jersey could get to the pump and fill up without waiting for hours. sharon is here with an update. >> oil prices fell below $89 a barrel for the first time since july. there's plenty of oil out there. it's just a matter of getting it to the right places. the fact some refineries are down leaves traders to believe there may be a backlog of crude oil for a while here. we're looking at gasoline futures that are down more than 2%. demand is falling, and the distribution issues are slowly being resolved. that's pressuring gasoline futures. prices at the pump, well, they're below $3.50 a gal llon r the national average. some states are seeing prices below $3.25 a gallon. they're seeing big price drops there over the past month. so there may be some around the country who say what superstorm? gas prices are falling where we are. they don't know about sandy. it hasn't really hit them. they're seeing lower prices at
3:30 pm
the pump. hopefully we'll see those too in new york and new jersey soon enough . back to you. >> when will we see an end to the gas crisisis in the northea? >> let's ask legendary investor boone pickens. welcome back. >> thank you. >> what do you make of the lines we're seeing and we're experiencing here in the northeast right now? >> it's not a shortage of gasoline. your problem is a shortage of power. so you've got what -- what you've got is those long lines at those stations that are able to pump gasoline into the cars. >> sort of off topic, but we're wondering back here why they don't require back-up generators at all gas stations here. >> well, how many times has this happened? >> only takes one time, though. >> well, that's another expense.
3:31 pm
it's pretty well shut down in north carolina because of compressors there, which is power. but you still have plenty of gasoline. >> it feels like this is the kind of event where it can really spiral out of control and get a lot worse. from your standpoint, what would be the lasting impact of this storm? >> the lasting impact? is that the question? >> yes. >> well, lasting impact, you know, the storm is, you know, it's unusual. it's a 100-year storm. so lasting impact, well, it's beginning to ta-- going to takea
3:32 pm
few days to work your way out. the primary problem is the power. >> you think it will just be a few days? do you worry about these shortages, that this can lead to an even bigger problem? >> like what? >> well, i mean, look at these lines. people cannot get gasoline. it's causing fights among people. obviously, i understand it's not a demand -- it's not a supply issue of gasoline, it's the power. but it is what it is at the end of the day. people are in need of gasoline. >> well, having said all that, maria, you're going to have to wait until your power is up is what happens. the lasting impact a month from now, i doubt it will be a problem for anybody. >> we all know, boone, there's been a decided lack of increase in refining capacity in this country. they haven't been falling all
3:33 pm
over themselves to build more refineries. would it help if there were more refineries more spread out, more diversified distribution channels so you could alleviate not just in the northeast here the kind of situation that exists when you get this kind of a natural disaster, but a natural disaster that could create a bottleneck of sorts where you can't get needed supply to where it's needed? >> well, you have the gasoline. you're not short of gasoline. you're sort of power to pump the gasoline out of the tanks into the cars. that's where you are. so it's not a shortage of gasoline. you've got 1,300,000 barrels of oil in the path of that hurricane. 1,300,000 barrels. you were producing at about 1 million to about 1.1 million. that was normal maintenance this time of the year. nothing unusual.
3:34 pm
it happens every year. now you've got the biggest refinery at 1.3 million that's in the path of the storm. that's 268,000 barrels. that's down. so now what happened? you went from about 1.1 million to about half of that. so you've got about 600,000 barrels that's available out of refineries. at the same time, you have plenty of gasoline. so it's a power problem is what the issue is. >> right. boone, let me ask you this. regardless of what the problem is, people are online and they are waiting to get gas. a lot of people are waiting hours and hours and hours. do you think these gas stations -- and i'm not suggesting they should -- but do you think they should be able to raise prices given the situation? that so many people want the gas, need the gas but can't get it. >> well, i don't think you
3:35 pm
should raise the price of gasoline. gasoline is already in their storage ready to be sold to the customer at a price. they're not paying up anymore for the gasoline. the filling station operator isn't. so, no, i don't see a reason to raise the price of gasoline. >> so you seem to be suggesting, boone, that we should just accept the fact this is a 100-year storm and that we shouldn't prepare ourselves for the event that it could happen again and create this bottleneck because of power problems. >> well, i don't know how you're going to change it because you're going to -- i think you accept the fact it's a 100-year storm and this will be behind you. there isn't anything that you and i or anybody else can do to make -- to get the gasoline online quicker than it's going to happen because you're back to
3:36 pm
your power deal. so you're back to your utilities, your power companies. is there anything wrong with what they've done? they have a 100-year storm. this is just some of the results of it. when these things happen, you know, it's difficult for everybody. but we're going to live through it. >> all right. we'll leave it there. great to talk with you, boone. thanks so much. >> okay. thank you. >> we're in the final stretch for the day and for the week on wall street. the dow jones industrial average worsening here, down about 135 points at this hour with 25 minutes before the closing bell. >> it always seems darkest when it's in your backyard. when we come back, $100 billion worth of investment advice. the man managing that amount of money for fidelity says how you should position your portfolio. after the bell, will sandy threaten clorox's bottom line? i'll talk with the ceo. stay with us.
3:37 pm
so, i'm happy. sales go up... i'm happy. it went out today... i'm happy. what if she's not home? (together) she won't be happy. use ups! she can get a text alert, reroute... even reschedule her package. it's ups my choice. are you happy? i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy. happy. happy. happy. happy. (together) happy. i love logistics. a short word that's a tall order. up your game.
3:38 pm
up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up. up isn't easy, and we ought to know. we're in the business of up. everyday delta flies a quarter of million people while investing billions improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we will up it yet again.
3:39 pm
our next guest says some investors may have missed out on the rally. is the trend lower for now? >> john sweeny is with us. he joins us along with bob. good to see you, gentlemen.
3:40 pm
thanks for joining. when you seeinstinct? do you want to sell into this or look for opportunities on the buy side? >> we try and have focus, remember that they are investing for the long term. as long as they can construct a portfolio that matches their time, they can eliminate some of the noise they're seeing day to day in the markets. >> so where would you be allocating capital here? >> we try to bring people back to their goals. if your retirement is still 10 to 20 years away, you want to sustain any inflation or volatility. getting too focused in the short term is potentially doing a disservice to investors who may pull capital off the table amid concerns in europe or the u.s. debt crisis in the last 18 months and have potentially missed out on the rally we've had here in the u.s.
3:41 pm
>> bob w the magnitude of the selloff now, we're now negative for the week for the dow and the nasdaq. that's the fourth week in a row for the nasdaq. why the selloff right now? what's going on? >> i'll tell you what a lot of people are pointing to. if you can put up a chart of apple intraday. i've got an lot of inquiries. about 1:15 as apple hit $588, the stock just collapsed. you can't see the volume chart, but there was a noticeable pick up when apple hit $588 a little after 1:00. $588 or so is the five-day moving average. yes, technicals matter in this circumstance. it's the first time it's breached it since november of last year. i'm sure that's what caused the drop in apple. the overall market drooped a little after that. right now i think it's the is situation with apple that's weighing on stocks. >> this stock has come down so much from the highs. do you see an opportunity to get apple? we hit 700 at one point. >> you want to be sure that
3:42 pm
you're looking at earnings growth. that's the driver for any company you want to pick. so with what we try and do is ask folks to think about selecting companies that are continuing to grow their earnings. you want to do your research and look at -- >> what i'm asking is you. you, specifically, do you like apple? >> we don't make picks on individual equities. >> but in terms of looking -- you're also doing research and doing sort of the long-term investment research that needs to be done for companies. so ydo you think this is one of those names that would be overall in the value basket for the next 10 to 20 years? >> you want to think about companies continuing to innovate. there are lots of companies in the technology space that show innovation. apple is one of those companies. the question is whether this is an entry point. it has a lot to do with how much you earn. the pullback has been opportunities for investors looking to get in. it might be the right time to invest. but you have to be concerned about the earnings growth going
3:43 pm
forward. >> bob, i noticed the sectors and how they've performed this week. it really has the feel of a sandy effect. utilities and consumer staples have been the weakest perform thers week. terms have done better. the anticipation of rebuilding and the hit that the utilities have taken right now still feels like it's the aftermath of the storm here. >> we're in a slightly different -- the cause of qe-3, it has created some whacky distortions in the market. it's again affecting the market today. when we got a better than expected payroll report, which i think is certainly good news, the dollar rallied because there's less likelihood of qe-3. that would be dollar positive. well, you know, that might be good. that's certainly a good sign of a better economy as well. but that put pressure on all the commodities. you can see that this knock-on effect of qe-3, which is one reason so many people have a hard time with qe-3.
3:44 pm
>> john sweeney, what impact do you feel the monetary policy has had? there was a time the market was rallying even as the fundamentals were falling down or slowing down at that point. do you invest and feel the market goes higher because of further monetary policy and easing from the fed? >> well, the thing that we get asked a lot about is the fiscal cliff and what concerns that may create for investors. there are a couple things. as you think about the appreciation of the equity markets, we ask folks to consider rebalancing. you want to make sure you're making your investment decision first. if you have an opportunity to pear back some gains, take the gains this year. you have a tax rate you know what it is this year. you don't know what it's going to be next year. as you're considering rebalancing, you want to think about taking gains this year. want first decision, though, has to be your investment decision. the second decision is your tax decision. >> very good. john, good to see you. >> thank you very much.
3:45 pm
>> bob, we'll be checking back. >> appreciate it. just want to point out we're getting a news alert here that c con edison is estimating all lower and mid-manhattan customers will be restored this evening, some sooner. on my way in, i want to show you the new picture i just took of that tunnel. some of the water has been taken out. it looks a lot better. i'll show you the shot i took a few minutes ago. as i was coming in, the con ed guys are outside. they're working so hard. you can see the shots i took wednesday, thursday, and friday. this is the tunnel that leads into the battery tunnel. as you can see, we have actually had some real progress now with this last shot that i took just five minutes ago. >> a lot of very, very hard work going on down there. it's good to see the progress as the water level in that tunnel finally starts to go down there. very good news. we're heading toward the close. we're near the lows right now. down 134 points on the dow. as i mentioned, we are now negative for the week for the major averages. the dow and the nasdaq right
3:46 pm
now. >> bill, apparently the show must go on. new york city marathon will still go on despite all the devastation and suffering still happening around new york. a key city official is now breaking ranks from mayor bloomberg and calling for the race to be canceled. he'll join us next. also, don't miss nbc's sandy benefit concert featuring spring seen, bon jovi, christina aguilera among many others. all proceeds will be donated to the american red cross relief earths. that's tonight. you'll find it here tonight on cnbc. in fact, all of the nbc kmachans will carry it beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. stay tuned. aspirin, really? i haven't thought about aspirin for years. aspirin wouldn't really help my headache, i don't think. aspirin is just old school. people have doubts about taking aspirin for pain.
3:47 pm
but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. what's different? it has micro-particles. enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of pain. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer. with scottrader streaming quotes, any way you want. fully customize it for your trading process -- from thought to trade, on every screen. and all in real time. which makes it just like having your own trading floor, right at your fingertips. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. try our easy-to-use scottrader streaming quotes. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade.
3:48 pm
3:49 pm
as you can see, the markets has worsened in the last few minutes or so. the dow jones industrial average down 142 points. that's better than 1%. nasdaq weaker by 36 points. the s&p 500 down 13 points.
3:50 pm
the market had been higher earlier on the heels of the better-than-expected jobs numbers. now it completely reversed course and doubled what we saw on the upside earlier. the high was about 57 points. >> exactly. we're about the low right now. >> the new york city marathon is still going on this weekend despite the fact that the city is still reeling from the devastating effects of hurricane sandy. >> that's drawing criticism from residents, local leaders, including our next guest, new york city controller john liu, who joins us on the phone from rockaway, queens. one of the areas that was hard hit by the monster storm. good to talk to you again. welcome back. >> good to be back on. >> why are you opposed to this? mayor bloomberg says he wants to show the world that, you know, new york city is open for business and can withstand all this. you originally supported that. >> i would like to show the world that as well, but unfortunately, the relief and recovery efforts haven't quite
3:51 pm
gone on as well as people would like to have. >> so the infrastructure is still not in place. do you feel this will divert resources away? the mayor says that won't happen. >> i think it will. we only have a limited amount of resources. i believe the city did very well in manhattan, which is kind of like an economic center. people are expected to get thundershower power back up by tomorrow. the water is flowing. cell phone signals are back up to some extent. i'm here in the far rockaway. here and in southern parts of brooklyn and in much of staten it island, people are hurting. we need more recovery resources for these parts of new york city. as much as i would like to have m the marathon on, it's not a good time. >> so tell me, john, about those resources. break it down for us. folks don't realize, i think, the resources that are in such
3:52 pm
high demand. like right now as we speak, there must be so many generators in central park getting ready for this marathon, when in fact, people are dieing in staten island and parts of new jersey and new york still because they need power, they need those generators. so can you talk to us about the specific resources that are being diverted to central park for the marathon and where they could be used elsewhere. >> i am getting pleas for generators, for man power, for food, for water in different parts of the city. let's take a look at the generators, for example. there are many makeshift shelters. the city shelters have been doing a good job, but it's not enough for everybody out here. there's much more demand than was originally expected. so generators and the need for electricity, the need for warmth, basic warmth and light is not being met right now. >> i think you can tell that
3:53 pm
maria and i agree with you, but let me play devil it's advocate. you realize that the marathon can bring in it badly needed revenue to the city to the tune of about $340 million. that would be lost if they don't hold the marathon. >> the city generates about $2 billion in economic activity on a daily basis. we are down to about 20% of that in the first place. now, that's not economic activity that's going to be lost forever. the marathon gets postponed by a week or two, it's not the end of the world, and it's not all lost. much of that can be recovered. >> what about the people who have flown in from all around the world that are here for this day? they're going to have to change all their plans and the expense of that coming back in a week. again, we're playing devil's advocate. >> i know you are. i know you're struggling to do so. as much as i feel bad for people who might have had their travel arrangements messed up, we have people in these shelters who
3:54 pm
aren't asking when the electricity and water are going to come back because they have nowhere to go back home to. >> right. >> john liu, thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> we're going to take a quick break. got to get back to the markets. we'll come back to the closing countdown. >> the dow jones industrial average down 138 points. we're very close to the low of the afternoon. just shy of it. superstorm sandy causing enormous gas lines for three days going. now the northeast is experiencing food shortages in some areas as well. look at these pictures. food and gas. if both of those are scarce, are bad things ahead? stay with us. e want to improve our schools... ... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education.
3:55 pm
let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this.
3:56 pm
♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission.
3:57 pm
they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. this strong dollar is the culprit. it stayed strong. it's up at about a one-month high against the euro. that has pushed gold down 2% today.
3:58 pm
crude oil down 2% today. stocks have gone with it as well. very quickly on the sectors for the week. again, i call this the sandy effect. the strength was in basic materials. now everybody's lower right now. so for the week, we are seeing minus signs across the board. let's bring in ben willis. what do you make of this late selloff and why we're going down today? >> well, it's a perversion of wall street f you will. the fact of the matter is the economic data is pointing to such great strength that that gives the idea that the fed will back away from the easy money policy that's been in place. the twist will expire. et cetera, et cetera. that's driving up the dollar. the commodity based dollars are trading lower. so you had gold come off. you had oil come off. they also broke support levels, or 85 level on the west texas intermediate. they fed on themselves. that's exactly what happens. everything is so good it's not so good anymore. >> maria, the energy has been
3:59 pm
sharply lower. exon and chevron also reported lower earnings. that's not helping right now either. >> that's part of the drag on the dow jones industrial average, for sure. the energy stocks. the exon and chevron shares are part of the dow 30. that's definitely among the weak spots today. overall, it's also the uncertainty. we're looking at these pictures of these gas lines, people waiting to get gasoline. we're looking at shortages on food and recognizing that, you know, just because the hurricane has passed, doesn't mean the implicationed have passed. the work is just beginning. >> ben, what do you think next week? a little bounce or what do you expect? >> no, i think we can still see a bit of a pullback. my concern is there's so little economic data next week it can be a frenzy of headline driven events that can lead to the volatility of the market. >> all right. thank you very joining us. that'll do it for the

295 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on